


Perfect little secret

by ca_te



Series: Slipping through time [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, M/M, Pre-Slash, Reincarnation, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-27
Updated: 2012-01-27
Packaged: 2017-10-30 05:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/328080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ca_te/pseuds/ca_te
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They have always been like this; blurring boundaries</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect little secret

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the song "Perfect Little Secret" by Snow Patrol. I decided to write this from Arthur's POV, considerig that the previous stories are from Merlin's.

_In the blinding darkness  
of the night it seems simple  
all i know is that  
i love you here right now_

  
(Snow Patrol- Perfect little secret)

  
Merlin’s arm is thin around his waist and Arthur wonders for the umpteenth time how he manages to be so bony- when they were kids he used to think that the wind could blow Merlin away any time.

Merlin leans heavily against his side and Arthur stumbles a little while he tries to push the door open. They’ve to be quiet because Uther is sleeping upstairs and he surely wouldn’t like to come face to face with two drunken sixteen-years old.

“Mmm…you’re warm, Arthur!”

Arthur tries not to giggle too loud; everything seems to slosh around him and he grips the bannister a bit tighter.

Merlin slips a hand under Arthur’s pullover- his fingers cold against warm skin. It’s nothing new, because they have always been like this; blurring boundaries, leaning close to each other  when they feel like it, falling asleep on Merlin’s bed, legs tangled together and some random movie still playing.  
It’s different when they’ve drunken a bit too much, though. Everything seems sharper to Arthur, simple brushes of fingertips and tipsy grins.

“Jesus, Merlin! You sure are a touchy drunk!”

Merlin snorts and presses his face against Arthur’s shoulder.

“It’s because you’re warm, like…so warm!”

They finally manage to fall onto the bed and Merlin curls up by Arthur’s side. Arthur allows himself to slide his fingers in the black mess of his friend’s hair.

Merlin mumbles something that sounds like “I hate you for having gotten me so drunk” and Arthur’s lips stretch in a smile. He falls asleep within instants.

*

Arthur wakes up with a start; he doesn’t remember what he has dreamt of, but he knows that his heart is trying to break out of his ribcage and cold sweat is sliding down his spine. Gulping down air, he turns on his side. It’s then that he remembers that Merlin is there too. He slowly regains control of his heart and of his lungs, while he watches Merlin sleep, his eyelashes stark black against his pale skin.

Arthur forces himself to focus his attention on the ceiling; the white plaster is safer, it doesn’t make things move around inside of him like confused little animals. It doesn’t make him question who he is, what he feels. It doesn’t make his blood pool in the wrong places or his breath stutter.  
Merlin shifts beside him; Arthur can feel his thigh against his own, soft puffs of breath falling over the skin of his neck.

If something seems to derail inside of him, he blames it on all the beer that Gwaine has made him drink.

It doesn’t matter if he has already experienced this soft tingling so many times before- when Merlin grins at him cheeks redder because of the cold or when he takes his hand to navigate through too crowded streets.

He can’t allow himself to think about it. It’s not who he is, it’s not how things are supposed to work when it comes to your best friend. Not when he has always been there for you, a steady constant that makes you feel as though you can face everything that the future may bring if he is there.

Arthur sighs and closes his eyes. Merlin’s bright eyes looking at him over the brim of the glass that night burn against his eyelids.


End file.
